Sunday, April 16, 2006
Home Again...
So, seven of us went to NYC to participate in a conference at the United Nations. We learned about international and local poverty issues, and ways to address them at both the intervention and prevention levels.
It was a long day getting down there (and back)... with a two hour drive to Montreal, then a ten hour train ride. The train was nice though - and we could walk around, lie down, eat, or play cards in the dining car.
We met lots of nice people - there were about 200 participants in the conference - of all ages, including a large group from Vancouver. I got to go to one Broadway show on my night off, and I saw "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" - it was hilarious. And I got to take a group of youth to the Museum of Natural History - just amazing place, really - with the biggest dinosaurs I have ever seen. I have got to take Owen there one day.
The conference itself was very informative and emotionally draining. One of the most interesting workshops was about the homeless youth in Manhattan. About half of the homeless youth are from the GLBT community (they are over-represented proportionally) and the estimates are that there are about 30,000 of these youth in Manhattan. What a shock. These youth have a very hard time staying in regular homeless shelters, as they are targeted and attacked. So this group has started a chain of shelters for GLBT youth - and they put ten beds into church basements throughout the city.
I also really enjoyed the Worshop service that was held on the last day. The guest minister told a great story which I have re-created above for you to share with your kids and friends.
I hope that our youth group will take on a service project next year which will address poverty at some level. Such as raising awareness about ethical investments, or buying products that are from countries that use sweatshop labour.
It was a long day getting down there (and back)... with a two hour drive to Montreal, then a ten hour train ride. The train was nice though - and we could walk around, lie down, eat, or play cards in the dining car.
We met lots of nice people - there were about 200 participants in the conference - of all ages, including a large group from Vancouver. I got to go to one Broadway show on my night off, and I saw "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" - it was hilarious. And I got to take a group of youth to the Museum of Natural History - just amazing place, really - with the biggest dinosaurs I have ever seen. I have got to take Owen there one day.
The conference itself was very informative and emotionally draining. One of the most interesting workshops was about the homeless youth in Manhattan. About half of the homeless youth are from the GLBT community (they are over-represented proportionally) and the estimates are that there are about 30,000 of these youth in Manhattan. What a shock. These youth have a very hard time staying in regular homeless shelters, as they are targeted and attacked. So this group has started a chain of shelters for GLBT youth - and they put ten beds into church basements throughout the city.
I also really enjoyed the Worshop service that was held on the last day. The guest minister told a great story which I have re-created above for you to share with your kids and friends.
I hope that our youth group will take on a service project next year which will address poverty at some level. Such as raising awareness about ethical investments, or buying products that are from countries that use sweatshop labour.
